Robots

Wall Street’s New Robotic Stock Picker Is Already Heartless

Left, David Paul Morris/Bloomberg; Right, by Justin Sullivan, both from Getty Images.

When Google C.E.O. Sundar Pichai talks about artificial intelligence, he sounds like a teen with a crush, obsessed with finding ways to incorporate A.I. into every new product he makes. His company has long flirted with A.I., forking over half a billion dollars for a British artificial-intelligence start-up and using its capabilities to do everything from improving medical diagnostics to beating humans at ancient Chinese board games. Facebook, too, seems pretty enamored; the company has invested in its own A.I. and machine-learning programs, and C.E.O. Mark Zuckerberghas said he’s “excited” about A.I.’s “potential to make the world better.” Unfortunately for both companies, the feeling does not appear to be mutual.

Less than a month after Wells Fargo analyst Ken Sena introduced a bot that does some of the work of a human analyst, making recommendations for stocks and tracking stock prices, the AIERA—that’s short for “artificially intelligent equity research analyst”—has spurned both its would-be Silicon Valley suitors. “AIERA’s approach this week appears decidedly more conservative (than last week), as she places a ‘hold’ recommendation on 11 names and even [goes] so far as to place Google and Facebook in the ‘sell’ category,” Sena said in a note sent to clients and reported by Bloomberg. Wall Street, on the other hand, has remained optimistic about both tech giants, with the majority of banks issuing buy ratings for Facebook and Google alike.

Ultimately, the error could be with the artificial intelligence, and not with Wall Street, as Sena says the robot’s views don’t reflect Wells Fargo’s own outperform rating on both companies. “We would reiterate that AIERA remains in test and learn mode, and therefore has no current bearing on our long-term outlooks or ratings,” he wrote.